Assembling mechanism for linecasting machines



1965 D. L. GREENWOOD ETAL 3,225,907

[:IEIIIIEIDEIE] INVENTOR. DAVID L. GREENWOOD BY RBERT KL-EPPER RNE Y United States Patent 3,225,907 ASSEMBLING MECHANISM FOR LINECASTING MACHINES David L. Greenwood, New York, and Herbert Klepper,

Brooklyn, N.Y., assignors to Eltra Corporation, a corporation of New York Filed Sept. 25, 1963, Ser. No. 312,253 2 Claims. (Cl. 199-28) This invention relates to typographical composing machines of the general organization shown in US. Letters Patent No. 436,532 wherein circulating matrices and spacebands are composed in line and, after movement through the machine, presented to the face of a mold for the casting of a type bar or slug. The matrices and spacebands are thereafter separated and returned to their places of storage. More particularly, the present invention relates to the assembly of matrices and spacebands in a composed line at high speeds. This is a continuing application of prior application Serial No. 164,827 filed January 8, 1962, now abandoned.

In such machines, the character bearing matrices are stored in magazines and are released therefrom in response to actuation of a keyboard. The keyboard may be manually operated or, as is becoming more the case, automatically operated by a control unit functioning in response to a coded tape. Upon release, the matrices fall by gravity onto an inclined continuously moving conveyor belt which transports them to an assembler chute. The matrices travel through the assembler chute and are directed thereby in front of a stacking element, generally a rotating starwheel, which stacks them one by one in the assembler in the order of their release.

It is obvious that the matrices will be released from the channels of the magazine in which they are stored in the order that they are to be stacked in the assembler. However, the distance that a matrix travels before it reaches the stacking element varies depending on the location of the magazine channel from which it is released. For example, matrices stored in the right hand portion of the magazine travel a much greater distance than those stored in the left hand portion of the magazine which is relatively near the stacking element. Notwithstanding the different distance that matrices have to travel from their magazine release point to the stacking element, the travel time has to be substantially equal for all matrices regardless of their storage location, otherwise they will not be assembled in the order of their release.

Heretofore, the equalization of the matrix travel time has been effected by control of the distance that a matrix falls under the influence of gravity before reaching the continuously moving assembler belt and control of the speed at which the belt travels. In effecting such control, the inclination of the assembler belt has been altered to change the distances from the matrix channels to the belt, depending on the remoteness of a matrix channel from the stacking element, and the free fall path of the matrices has been controlled by shaped deflectors or guide strips provided in the assembler front. While the foregoing expedients have been satisfactory in the past, it has been found that a definite upper limit has been reached on the speed with which matrices can be assembled in the order of their release from the storage magazine. In other words, as an attempt is made to increase the speed at which linecasting machines operate, it has been found that matrix transpositions occur with a frequency suflicient to prohibit commercial use of the machines at such higher speeds.

Consequently, it is the object of this invention to increase the speed with which matrices can be assembled in a composed line.

3,225,907 Patented Dec. 28, 1965 "ice It is another object of this invention to reduce the number of matrix transpositions that occur at high assembly speed.

In carrying out the invention there is provided an assembler belt of improved operating characteristics which considerably shortens the matrix travel time over that heretofore attainable with the standard conventional assembler belt. The improved operating characteristics are achieved by changing the material of the assembler belt. Other elements are provided which aid in shortening the matrix travel time as by maintaining the matrices in contact with the fast traveling assembler belt.

Features and advantages of the invention may be gained from the foregoing and the description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which follows.

In the sole figure of the drawing there is shown the assembling mechanism of a line casting machine.

Referring to the drawing, character bearing matrices 16 are released from their storage magazine 11 in response to the operation of a keyboard 12, thence fall onto a continuously moving delivery belt 13, which carries them to an assembler chute 14, after which they are composed in line in an assembler 15 by a stacking device in the form of a constantly rotating star wheel 16. Spacebands 17 are released, again in response to keyboard operation, in proper sequence from the spaceband storage box 18. As shown in the drawing, the spacebands drop directly from storage box 18 to the assembly position where they are stacked in line by the rotating star wheel 16. The composed line is then transferred from the assembler to the slug casting mold. The transfer mechanism may be that conventionally employed in presently used linecasting machines or it may take the form disclosed in US. Patent No. 2,997,159.

In traveling from the matrix storage magazine to rotating star wheel 16, a matrix first experiences a free fall, the length of which depends on the storage position of the matrix in the magazine, followed by a transfer on the delivery belt 13. It is clear that if the delivery belt transports a matrix faster than the matrix would travel during a free fall, the matrix travel time of two matrices can be substantially equalized even though one matrix travels a greater distance than the other matrix. In such a case the matrix that travels the farthest distance will have a comparatively short free fall and a longer ride on the delivery belt. The delivery belt is inclined at an angle that provides an optimum relationship between free fall time and belt travel for all matrices so that at normal matrix assembly speeds the matrix travel time is substantially equal for all matrices.

Inasmuch as a matrix from the extreme right hand section of the storage magazine travels the greatest distance, the speed with which it can reach the stacking element determines the maximum speed at which matrices can be assembled. Since such a matrix travels the greater part of its path to the stacking element While being carried by the belt, it follows that the matrix travel time can be shortened only by shortening the belt travel time.

It has been determined that this cannot be done simply by speeding up the linear speed of the belt since there is a point at which increased belt speed only leads to increased slippage between matrix and belt. Moreover, at high belt speeds it is believed that a matrix bounces when it first engages the belt after its free fall from the storage magazine to the belt. The matrix, of course, eventually settles on the belt and is accelerated thereby, but at the critical time of contact the effect of the fast traveling belt is lost.

In order to achieve a rapid acceleration of a matrix as it reaches the delivery belt it has been discovered that a synthetic elastomer belt having a high sliding coefiicient of friction reduces the matrix travel time considerably over that attained with the conventional rubber covered fabric belt that has been used for a good many years. A urethane elastomer approximately 92 durometer, Shore A, has been found especially suitable for the delivery belt of a linecasting machine. For example, a belt madeof solid urethane was found to reduce the variation in mean travel time of the matrices from the extreme right of the magazine from approximately ninety to approximately fifty milliseconds. By reducing the variation of mean travel time of matrices, the assembling speed of matrices at the stacking element can be greatly increased without introducing transpositions into the lines of matrices.

As a further improvement in assembly operations, light springs 19 have been placed at the lower ends of guides 20 provided in the assembler font to control the free fall time of matrices. It has been found that only a few springs placed on selected guides are sufficient to improve assembly. It is thought that the springs act to press the matrices onto the assembler belt and thereby prevent any slippage between matrix and belt.

It is to be understood that many variations can be made to the preferred embodiment of the invention described in the specification and shown in the drawing without departing from its spirit and scope. Therefore, the description and drawing are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. In an assembly mechanism for a linecasting machine wherein matrices are released from a storage magazine, fall freely through an assembler front having guides for directing the falling matrices prescribed paths to a traveling delivery belt that advances the matrices to a stacking element which stacks the matrices in a composed line in an assembling station, the combination of a plurality of spring members, each connected to the bottom end of selected assembler front guides spaced along the run of the delivery belt and acting to press a matrix passing thereunder to the delivery belt, and a delivery belt having a urethane surface with a hardness of approximately 92 durometer, Shore A.

2. In an assembly mechanism for a linecasting machine wherein matrices are released from a storage magazine, fall freely through an assembler front having guides for directing the falling matrices through prescribed paths to a traveling delivery belt that advances the matrices to a stacking element which stacks the matrices in a composed line in an assembling station, the combination of a plurality of spring members, each connected to the bottom end of selected assembler front guides spaced along the run of the delivery belt and acting to press a matrix passing thereunder to the delivery belt, and a delivery belt having a urethane surface which has a high sliding coefficient of friction.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS l/ 1922 Villareal 19928 1/1940 Connor "199-28 OTHER REFERENCES EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner. 

2. IN AN ASSEMBLY MECHANISM FOR A LINECASTING MACHINE WHEREIN MATRICES ARE RELEASED FROM A STORAGE MAGAZINE, FALL FREELY THROUGH AN ASSEMBLER FRONT HAVIG GUIDES FOR DIRECTING THE FALLING MATRICES THROUGH PRESCRIBED PATHS TO A TRAVELING DELIVERY BELT THAT ADVANCES THE MATRICES TO A STACKING ELEMENT WHICH STACKS THE MATRICES IN A COMPOSED LINE IN AN ASSEMBLING STATION, THE COMBINATION OF A PLURALITY OF SPRING MEMBERS, EACH CONNECTED TO THE BOT- 